We got the chance to interview Ayla Kell from ABC’s Make it Or Break It – we asked her some hard hitting GirlMogul questions so we could get the down low on what it takes to be a successful – whether it’s in show biz or just life!

Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a performer/? How/When did you know that this is what you wanted to do?

A. Yes. When I was younger I knew I would be a performer of some kind, just didn’t know what type. I knew that I loved to entertain people, make them smile, cry, feel something. I love to make people experience something. Whether it was dancing, or acting, I wasn’t sure. But I knew that my being a performer was already in my future.

Q. You have been successful at so many things from such a young age – did you have a plan or goals to get you there? If so do you have tips on how other girls can achieve their dreams?

A. While I didn’t have a plan at a young age, I had determination and drive to make it happen. Anything is possible. And it’s so easy to get caught up in how big your goals are, and how small and insignificant one can feel. You can’t focus on that. You have to focus on doing small things everyday to build up to achieving your dream. I never try to achieve being the best in the world, just doing my personal best, because that’s all I have to compare what I’m capable to.

Q. Singing and performing sounds like fun – not work – but it must be – can you tell us about a typical day for you – what’s your favorite parts – and your least favorite parts

A. On a typical day of work, I get up at 5:00 am, get to work by 5:30 am. Eat a breakfast burrito (one of my favorite things), and get into makeup and hair. During that time, I go over my lines for that day to make sure I’m on it and prepared. Then we will shoot. We shoot each scene from a couple different angels and sizes, but we just do the same thing over and over while the camera changes. Lunch. Then back to work till we get our page count done for that day. It averages about 12 hours, then come home. Take a run, yoga, shower, food, learn lines for the next day. And get up and do it all again. While it’s busy and hectic at times, I would never change it.

Q.Do you have any advice for girls who want to achieve something big – how to stick to their goal, how to say focused, ignore naysayers, etc?

A. For girls who want to achieve something big- Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither is a person. It takes years and experience to become your fullest person. And as badly as I wanted to achieve things when I was younger, I think I wouldn’t have known what to do with the success. Letting things happen in the way they were supposed to made my life such a wonderful thing. I never stopped working hard, but I stopped stressing about being perfect. Of course every once in a while I stress myself out, but I’m human. Now I’ve found a way to focus that stress into drive, focus, and determination. You can try to tell me I can’t do it, but that just makes me wanna do it even more.

Q. If you could change something about the world, what would it be and why?

A. I don’t generally like to entertain hypotheticals, it encourages the idea of wishing something away which will never come true. But if I had to choose something to make the world a better place, I would want to find a way that we could refocus the copious amounts of waste into a way to feed the entire world. It’s possible, science.

Q. What are your favorite movies?

A. Asking me about movies/tv is like asking a historian about history. I can talk about movies all day. Favorite movies are “Adam’s Rib” or “Night at the Opera” featuring my boys the Marx Bros. If you wanna talk tv- I’ve seen every episode of Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mr. Show, Arrested Development, and about a million others. I like outlandish comedies that are character driven. Books. I love getting caught up in a book. “Water for Elephants” was a great one this year. But my favorite books are “Great Gatsby”, “Galapagos”, “The World as I See It” (Albert Einstein), “Ham on Rye”, and “Catcher in the Rye”. We have to cover music in another interview, because I will write an essay on that alone.

And in her own words….

A.Oddly enough. You guys asked me 7 questions, which I’m obsessed with. The number 7 is HUGE in my life. Born October 7th, my parent’s got married on 7.7.77 at 7 o’clock, my sister was 7. It’s too much!!!

Hey Girls – one of our favorite sleuths is back – Sherry (short for Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin is hot on the trail of a criminal. But this time the mystery is decidedly down to earth – someone is sabotaging the make up at the newest all-natural beauty kiosk in the mall – causing major breakouts and threatening to put Sherry’s friend, Lacey, out of business! This time it seems like the Sherry won’t need any supernatural help from the Spirit Academy to crack this one – but she will need all the help she can get from her friends – Junie, Josh and Nick to crack this case. [ReviewAZON asin=”0385737882″ display=”fullpost”]

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself”

– Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen Quote of the Day

Hey GirlMoguls! It’s Rose here, with an inspirational quote I found! Today’s quote comes from Anna Quindlen, an American author, journalist, and a columnist. She is Barnard College graduate and has written five best selling books, out of which three were made into motion pictures. She has also written for numerous New York newspapers. I think Anna Quindlen captures the quintessential dilemma with most young girls today. In this day and age, teenage girls all across the world face challenges, but none that are as tough as having the pressure of being perfect. School, friends, and society demand a girl to have the perfect looks and the perfect hair and makeup. It’s not easy to be a young girl today without feeling the need to look just right and match up to the rest of the other girls. Girls feel insecure not being and/or looking their best. There is always more competition amongst girls than there are with guys. I know I feel that kind of pressure in school.

I think what Mrs. Quindlen is trying to say here is that we need to begin to love ourselves for who we truly are. Stop trying to be someone you are not and start accepting yourself for who you really are. It is not easy to give up on striving to be the best, but that shouldn’t push you to become someone that you are not. We should all try to become the best of our own selves, and do the best we can. Then, we can just be content with who we are instead of obsessing over what everyone else thinks! So, girls, let’s take her advice and try it! Let me know how your journey goes!

GirlMogul Rose

Posted by GirlMogul Rose

GirlMogul Adventures #1

Check out the GirlMogul's latest adventure. City girl Rose is stuck in MON - the Middle of Nowhere - for the whole entire summer. It's shaping up to the be the worst summer - ever! But then she finds an old diary - and before she knows it - discovers a secret that may change a town's entire history! Will she and her friends be able to save Hannah in time?